DonnaB

Hi Kathy, I use FitDay and have made combined food custom entrees. You do have to add up the totals for each ingredient and put them into the Custom Food form. If there is another way to do it, I'm not aware of it. The good news is you only have to do it once and then *click* it's Tuna Salad or *click* it's Sesame Crusted Salmon with Hoisin Sauce, or . . . you get the idea! I'm loving FitDay - wish I'd known about it years ago.

My fellow DFW area bandsters, Mikey and his wife JanetC, went into hiding and read two books this weekend and it made me wonder, what is everyone reading right now? I did the two book weekend a couple of weeks ago with Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The DiVinci Code. Except that I couldn't get interested in The DiVinci Code and put it down. I'm currently reading a nonfiction by David Starkey about Henry VIII called Six Wives, The Queens of Henry VIII - catchy title, huh? I'm enjoying it, particularly when I'm having a hard time falling asleep. Naturally, it's taking a long time to read - ever since I put down The DiVinci Code in fact! So, what book are you reading right now?

Tylenol PM Golden Vanilla. Z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z z.

Now that it's summer, there are a lot of really good, really sweet, fruits available. I eat watermelon every day. I avoid bananas because they're so high in calories, but black plums, nectarines, and strawberries are sweet AND good for you. I know, sounds like I'm bucking for sainthood huh? Catch me on a bad day though and you'll see some serious Dorito crunchin' goin' on!!! Good luck with the sweets cravings! BTW - I make sugar-free, fat-free pudding at home; I think it tastes better than the pre-made kind.

*snort* *cough* *choke* *cough* *ahem* Too TOO funny Paul! Don't do that while I'm trying to drink my water!!!! OMG Meredith Baxter Birney! LOL

This may not be what you want to hear - but then again, it may be just what you need to hear. If you're not already doing it, it's time to start tracking your calories. There's a free and easy way to do it - www.FitDay.com. I know everyone was banded so they wouldn't have to diet, but if you're not losing, and you're eating a lot of soft food because of PBs, you need to know exactly how many calories you're taking in. I'm very careful about choosing foods wisely because I know I'm journalling it. I know if there's a choice between a banana and a plum or two, I go with the plums. I know this because I log my food and I see exactly how many calories are in the banana. The plums are the better deal. I do the same with all my food choices now. I don't eat Cereal for Breakfast anymore. I get better Protein (!) and fewer calories with two fried eggs and 4 strips of Hormel pre-cooked bacon. Because I'm keeping track of everything that goes in my mouth I also have a better track record of getting in my Water every day. Drinking enough water every day makes a huge difference in my weight loss. When I don't drink the water, I don't lose. Don't underestimate the value of food journalling. Doing it with FitDay.com just makes it much much easier. The free online version works OK but if you find that you want to keep journalling, I recommend the $20 downloadable version. It keeps track of portions and has lots of different functions and reports available. Best $20 I ever spent on a diet. I wish I'd done it before being banded. - I guess I should mention that they don't pay me to endorse their product! lol I just think it's a GREAT tool. Kinda like my band. Good luck.

I have so many movies that my nieces and nephew call me Aunt Blockbuster! I have a hard time choosing only a few for a representative list: A League Of Their Own American Beauty American Graffiti Apollo 13 Big Fish Bull Durham Circle of Friends Dangerous Liasons Doctor Zhivago Enter The Dragon Frankenhooker Gone With The Wind OK, enough with the alphatetical order! lol Lawrence of Arabia A Night At The Opera Pulp Fiction Strictly Ballroom The Breakfast Club Forrest Gump All Rogers and Hammerstein musicals - all of them MOULIN ROUGE !!!!!! Grease OK, all musicals Star Wars - the original three, even though only two of them were good! Legends of the Fall Shakespeare In Love Eternal Sunshine Of A Spotless Mind The Joy Luck Club The Life of Brian Parenthood The Seven Year Itch When Harry Met Sally Sleepless In Seattle Roger Rabbit Erin Brockovich I'll save mini-series for another post! I mean who can say they've appreciated an epic story until they've seen 'I Claudius' ? OK, I'm done. Not really but . . .

Wow, I wish I felt like celebrating with a "whoo hoo" after my first PB. Mine was on scrambled egg and lasted for 6 hours. Ya, that was bad. It also seriously irritated my esphogus, for which I'm still taking Nexium. Combine that with a jerk-off doctor who OBVIOUSLY didn't listen and gave me a fill instead of an unfill, a weekend of not being able to swallow my own spit, and then, finally the unfill I requested (!) . . . As you can imagine I'm scared to try another fill and am now struggling with weight loss by straight up dieting. I keep telling myself that as soon as this chest pain from the esophogitis is under control I'll go in for a small fill, but honestly, I'm not sure I can go through another PB like the first one. I guess if I had had your PB, I would be saying "whoo hoo" too. Lucky girl.

I miss beer. Sad little pathetic statement which needs no further elaboration.

JJinLA, Try it out for 30 days and then decide. I mean, buy a Gazelle on QVC. They have a 30 day, no hassle, money back guarantee on all their products. I just saw them advertising The Gazelle yesterday and it was cheaper than in the stores - even counting the S & H. If you don't like it, for any reason, you return it to QVC and they give you your money back. They even give you a UPS return label so all you have to do it pack it back up and call UPS for pick up. Easy. That's what I'd do if I were you. If anyone had asked me two years ago if I'd EVER watch or buy anything from QVC I would have said they were nuts. I buy stuff from them pretty regularly now. Love the money back guarantee.

No, no burning sensation. The doctor I use for fills wants his patients to go on liquids for 1 week following a fill. I thought a week was excessive - 2 weeks is just nuts. According to my unofficial survey here on LBT (really just scrolling through and looking around! :nervous ), most doctors say liquids for 1 - 3 days after a fill. Just remember that if you have problems, you have to answer to YOUR doctor.

Hi all. I've just come from my State-side fill doctor who has suggested that doctors performing band surgery who use the Pars Flaccida - also known as the proximal stitch - technique are doing the surgery incorrectly, and that a Pars Flaccida, or proximal stitch, should not be used. For those who don't already know, the proximal stitch is the stitch - or stitches - taken on the backside of the stomach, which anchors the band to the diaphram muscle. Think of the proximal stitch as the center back belt loop on your jeans - with the band being the belt of course. The purpose of the proximal stitch is to make a slip virtually impossible. I say virtually because, as we all know, ANYTHING is possible! I called my Mexican surgeon today (Saturday - LOVE HIM!) and he tells me that the proximal stitch is the technique being taught in Italy which most Mexican surgeons use. He also tells me that the proximal stitch is an FDA approved surgery technique. I KNOW my Mexican surgeon proctored many many U.S. surgeons in lap band surgery, so now I'm curious . . . Do you have a proximal stitch? Has it caused any problems? Back pain with your first fill? Back pain with a PB? If so, how long did the pain last? Did it recur with subsequent fills? Anyone with the proximal stitch who did in fact have a slip? A separate - but related - question: Why are U.S. surgeons so FULL of themselves? Why do they feel the need to denegrate other surgeons with comments like (and I quote) "because all of my competition sucks" ? Any respect I might have felt for this doctor crumbled when he suggested that my doctor did me a disservice with the proximal stitch technique, and then by claiming that all his local competitors are incompetent. It seems to me that the majority of U.S. doctors have a very high opinion of themselves. This type of arrogance is not becoming in a professional in whom I am expected to place my trust. How do you trust anything that person says after a remark like that?

I'm a BIG Rumbaut fan too! But I'm getting smaller! Dr. Rumbaut was great, his office staff were great, his assistant was great, the hospital was great, the hotel was great. I did not have one negative experience when I went to Monterrey for my surgery. Very little post-op pain, very little post-op gas. AND a wonderful shopping trip 48 hours after surgery. 5-Stars, Highly Recommend!

More likely it presses too much food down into the stoma area creating the golfball feeling, just as if you'd taken too big a bite or didn't chew well enough. This is the 'no drinking for an hour after eating' explanation that made the most sense to me (and provides a lovely visual!): Think of your pouch and stoma like a funnel. You pour Water into the funnel and it runs right through and out. If you put mushy stuff (chewed up food) into the funnel then pour water on top, it pushes the mushy stuff into the narrow part of the funnel clogging it up; nowhere for the water to go but over the top and out - PB city. If you take a small bite and chew it up well, then pour in some water behind it, the water will wash the food through the stoma and into the stomach - so much for the full feeling achieved with a band. If you chew your food well and follow each bite with water, you're defeating the purpose of the band. Having said all that, I think that taking a small sip, occasionally, won't hurt anything. Unfortunately, we food addicts don't do "occasionally" very well.

Sounds like his surgery swelling is going down. Almost EVERYONE has post-operative swelling and when it goes down the normal hunger level comes back. Most people can eat almost like they did pre-surgery until they get a fill (or two or three) and they get restriction. The band really doesn't start working until you get restriction. Long story short - your husband sounds normal. In the good way! lol

You should definitely call your doctor and keep cool. Sounds like you overheat easily and you're probably not taking in enough water. Stay indoors, keep cool, and talk to your doctor.

Patty/Dutchgirl and Carlene - have you read "The Other Boleyn Girl" yet? It's also by Phillipa Gregory and, in my opinion, is a much better read than "The Queens Fool". It moves at a faster pace and is a more interesting story. The Queens Fool felt like it wasn't going anywhere in several places and it seemed like the author was just filling space to fatten up the story to novel length to me. I've loved historical novel's since reading Gone With The Wind as a teenager and then discovered my love of Tudor England after participating in Rennaisance Festival's in my late 20's and 30's. I read books from this period - fiction and non-fiction - whenever I come across them. Theres a good novel about Elizabeth I called "My Enemy The Queen. It's about Elizabeth's cousin Lettice Knolly's and her marriage to Elizabeth's love Robert Dudley. Carlene, thanks for the heads up on "Sisters To The King." I'm going to see if I can find it this week.

Yoda, The golfball feeling is pretty specific - I call it the FLAMING GOLFBALL OF DEATH! Can you tell that, for me at least, it really really hurts? It sounds to me like you're have a bit of esophogitis. After my first fill/overfill saga (read my LBT journal if you're interested in THAT fiasco) I had an almost constant pressure in my chest, sounds more like what you're feeling now. Turns out I have/had esophogitis - probably from being irritated by my first horrific PB and then being overfilled by my stupid, irresponsible, unethical fill doctor. I've been on Nexium for about 4 weeks now and it feels much much better. Good luck - tell us what you find out.

Sorry about your problem ChanelLover - I think you should seek another bariatric surgeons opinion. Yours doesn't sound like he knows what's going on. Lisa - 3 cc's in a 4 cc band for a first fill? ! I couldn't swallow my own spit with 1.7 ccs and had to have some out. Something is up with 3 cc's so early. Can you eat and drink? Yikes that sounds like a lot of fill. Are you sure you have a 4 cc band? Double check that.

Hey Maryland, Although I have always known about the 'garbage bin' analogy, I have to agree with you that there is a HUGE psycological factor which a lot of us have to deal with before we can benefit from the analogy. My parents didn't make me 'clean my plate' so it's not a childhood knee-jerk behavior. Logically, I know I can throw away food and the world will not fly off its axis and life as we know it will continue - but - I also know I have a hard time throwing the food away. It's not so much a guilty feeling that I'm struggling with, it's more about wasting money. But there's still more to it than that, I think I may be slightly OCD. I can't eat chips out of a bag or I have to FINISH them. I can't eat food off of the big plate or I have to FINISH it. I'm learning to portion my food before it becomes MY food - or I have to eat ALL of it. I'm not expressing myself very well here. It's more like a compulsion - one that I have to fight against every day. The more I recognize it, the better I do, but it's still a pitched battle which I don't always win. Knowing something is good for you doesn't mean you can do it - if it were so, we'd all be exercising every day. Knowing something is bad for you doesn't mean you can stop doing it - if it were so, none of us would have needed a band to begin with. It's a struggle, it's a compulsion, it's an addiction. The best we can do is take one day at a time, one meal at a time, and keep fighting. I have faith that once I'm a few steps ahead of my addiction I can continue to outrun it until it's so far behind me that the struggle will become easier. Notice I don't say I'll beat it or that it will become easy. Like all addicts, I will always be addicted and I will always have to be vigilant or I will fall right back into my destructive behavior.

I LOVE WATERMELON! It's sweet and tasty. It's FULL of Water. It's low on calories. It makes you feel full. ILOVE WATERMELON ! Is there any way to eat watermelon besides just chilled and cut up? I can't think of any way to use it except in it's natural, raw, form. MMmmmmmmmm.

I forgot to take my regular body/face lotion with me when I went to visit my family last week so I used my sister's Proactive lotion (twice). BIG MISTAKE. Huge. I have sensitive skin to start with so I really, really, really should have known better. My neck turned red and itchy the next day and now, 5 days later, it's still red and itchy and has now formed little teeny tiny blister-looking lumps. I don't think they really are blisters because I tried to open one to see if it was filled with anything but it wouldn't open. I know, ick. My forehead and behind both ears are itchy and lumpy too but not red. I've tried Benedryl, no help. I've tried Alovert, no help. I've been putting cortisone cream on my neck (but not my forehead), no help. Anyone have any homeopathic remedies for skin irritation? I could really use some help here, a little relief from the itching would be nice too! Serves me right for using a skin care product on my *gasp* skin! lol

I can feel my band when food passes through it. I can feel pressure where the band is (sternum, front and back) because I have esophogitis (irritated esophogus). I can feel my port if I run my hand over it. There are people here on LBT who say they can see their port, even through their clothes, sinces they've lost the majority of their weight. I don't know if this helps your or not. Good luck.

On the left, about 1 inch below my bellybutton - right along my waistband line. A little lower or a few inches higher would have been better. Where the port and port wound would be located is one of the FEW things I didn't think to ask about! Makes me wonder what ELSE I didn't think to ask. Hmmmmmm.

Walk, walk, walk, walk, walk. That works best. When I wasn't walking, the most comfortable position I could find was this: Standing next to the bed, bend from the waist and put your forearms on the bed with your forehead resting on the bed between them. You can bend your knees slightly if you need to to make it a bit more comfortable. I also stacked several pillows next to the edge of the bed and rested my pelvis on them. The idea is to keep your rear end sticking up. It looks weird put it takes the gas pressure off your sternum and shoulder area. I've had two laparoscopic surgeries and this position worked well for me both times. Good luck - I hope this helps.